Kung Fu: Old style Mantis

/ Tai Chi Notebook

There’s a new YouTube channel called Jiang Hu that’s just launched containing ‘old’ types of Kung Fu performed by a couple of Western Kung Fu practitioners based in China. The first video clip posted caught my eye. It’s an old Praying Mantis Kung Fu form called Luan Jie performed by ‘Will’ who also runs the Monkey Steals Peach blog.

The description reads: “Luan Jie 乱接 is the oldest form recorded in Praying Mantis Kung Fu. It is made up of 36 Mother Techniques, the core of the system. Here, Will performs the Luan Jie form from the Taiji Mantis lineage of Zhou Zhen Dong.”

I’ve heard of this “Taiji Mantis” name before, but I’m unsure wether that’s Mantis influenced by Taijiquan, or whether just a coincidental naming convention. Either way, it’s a really nice performance, and I like the hooking techniques done with both the arms and legs.

 

There’s also this informative video about the use of the characteristic Mantis hooking hand (Gou Shou) in application:

3 thoughts on “Kung Fu: Old style Mantis”

  1. Thanks for sharing.

    I actually started Will’s Luan Jie course online. It is well worth the worth the money, if anyone is curious. Will’s approach is step-by-step and he provides very clear and detailed instructions. After form demonstrations and instructions, there are also application videos as well as tea time discussion videos and pdfs for further reading. It is really comprehensive. You get a lot of value for the price.

    I actually bought the program on a whim while watching some Monkey Steals Peach videos while on holiday in Italy and I am really enjoying it. I also think it is a great way to support his work as Monkey Steals Peach is an amazing channel that covers many styles of kung fu and it is all done to a very high quality.

    Regarding the use of Taiji in the styles name, I believe the reason it is called Taiji Mantis is because Will’s teacher was distinguishing his particular approach to Mantis, which utilizes the concepts of Ying and Yang and Taiji quite a bit, from other Meihua lineages. The use of the Taiji and yin and yang concepts is prevalent in the Luan Jie online course.

    Thanks,

    Yukaene

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  3. As far as I know taiji in the taiji mantis has no relation to taijiquan. I met Will in Shanghai and he introduced me to his Xing Yi Liu He teacher Mr Tao. Very impressed with both Will and his teacher. I was only there for a day so didn’t get to train much and I was nursing a shoulder injury but would love to return to meet up with Will again.

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